As expected, Southern District Judge Denise Cote (See Profile) on Sept. 6 approved a price-fixing settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and three publishers of e-books — Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins. Cote signed off on the deal over the objections of Apple Inc., which has been accused by both the Justice Department and class action lawyers of conspiring with publishers to jack up e-book prices.
In a 45-page decision that included an Emily Dickinson ode to the value of books, Cote concluded in United States v. Apple, 12-cv-2826, that the agreement “appears reasonably calculated to restore retail price competition to the market.”
